Who You Meet
by Slayergirl
Summary: Nikki suddenly realises that she's met - or thinks she's met - Harry before. But is she right? Read on to find out...


**Author's note: **a little AU(ish) fic describing how Harry and Nikki might have met, how Nikki got interested in forensics, and why Harry's so protective of her. Not really shippy, as such.

I couldn't remember the actual age difference between them, but I believe it's a few years (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, or give me the information if you happen to know), but I've portrayed Nikki as a sixth-former doing her A-Levels, and Harry as a student a few years into his med. degree.

Yes, there is a nod to a comment made in series 13 - cookies for the first person to spot it ;)

**Who You Meet**

Nikki had been working alongside Harry for about a month before she realised where it was she'd met him – or _thought_ she'd met him – before. She wasn't sure how to bring it up; she didn't want him to think she was some kind of stalker, after all.

The opportunity arose one lunchtime when, for once, Leo couldn't go with them.

"What made you go into forensics?" asked Nikki curiously, towards the end of the meal.

Harry halted, his glass half-way to his mouth, as if thinking. "Well," he said slowly, "my father was a doctor. But as for forensics, in particular… it was at university. One of my lecturers was amazing, and got me really fired up about it." He smiled. "Funny, isn't it? That it's often who you meet that influences you so much."

"Mm."

"What about you?"

She wondered if he was just asking out of politeness, to make conversation, but decided to tell him. "Well, I'd always wanted to help people. Actually, originally, I wanted to be a brain surgeon."

"What changed your mind?" he asked, taking a drink from his glass.

"It was after talking to a student when I went on an open day at one of the universities I was thinking of applying to," she said, carefully not saying which one.

He laughed. "God, I remember those. I used to shut myself up in the lab and refuse to take part." Nikki suddenly wondered if she'd been mistaken, until he gave a soft smile. "Except once. I'd shut myself in the lab as usual, and it was supposed to be off limits, but this girl just wandered in… pretty little thing…"

"So you let her stay," she teased.

He frowned and shook his head. "No. If she'd been an airhead, I'd have chucked her out. But she was interested…"

"In you?" she said, aiming for an incredulous note.

"No," he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "It wasn't like that. She was a schoolgirl, for heaven's sake. I do have my limits, you know." He shook his head, and a distant look came over his face. "She was interested in the stuff I was working on – genuinely interested. Wanted to help, and when I refused to let her, asked if she could watch. I told her she shouldn't have been there, but she seemed pretty unconcerned, and, to be honest, I was never one for rules anyway."

"What happened?" she asked, though she already knew.

"Oh, I ended up giving in and letting her help," he laughed. "Don't worry, I made sure she wasn't doing anything dangerous."

_Yes, you did,_ she thought, smiling a little. _You still do._

"She asked some intelligent questions. Bright girl, we talked for a long time before she went back to find the rest of the group." He shook his head, with a smile. "Wonder what happened to her…?" He laughed. "I suppose I'll never know."

"Are you sure you'd want to?" she asked. "You might be disappointed."

He considered for a moment. "I think I'd like to know," he said softly. "I liked her. She was… feisty. Had a mind of her own. I could see her going a long way."

Nikki hid a smile. "I think I can fill you in on what happened to her," she said.

"You can?" he asked, surprised; then realisation started to dawn on his face.

"She ended up gate-crashing your office, and appropriating your desk," she said, a little nervously.

Harry stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh. "Seriously? That was you?"

She nodded, grinning back at him. "Yes… I went into forensics because of that afternoon I spent in the lab with you, talking about all the stuff you told me. I was… oh, I was flattered that someone like you would share your dreams of being a pathologist with me, just a silly schoolgirl…"

"You weren't silly," he objected. "If you were, I'd have thrown you out."

"Yeah, but you know what you're like at that age. And you talked to me as an equal, not like a schoolgirl, like I was actually making a difference. And you were so interested in what you were doing, and I couldn't help but… just get…. oh, I don't know, swept along with your enthusiasm, I suppose." She flushed a little, and bit her lip, saying with a half-laugh. "I wanted to be like you when I grew up."

By this time, as they were getting up to leave, Harry was laughing helplessly, and reached an arm around her, hugging her. "I'm flattered to have made such a difference."

Tentatively, she hugged him back. "I wasn't sure it was you," she confessed, as they walked back to the office, arm in arm. "I couldn't quite place you for ages, then it suddenly clicked."

He smiled. "Does Leo know?"

She shook her head. "No. And… I'd rather he didn't."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "It might seem a bit… stalker-ish from an outsider's point of view," she said hesitantly. "I mean… it's not, obviously…"

"Obviously," he said seriously, looking down at her, then grinning again, unable to stop himself.

She rolled her eyes. "We both know it wasn't like that. But… I just…" she paused. "You know, I've never told anyone about that afternoon? I always assumed they'd think it was…"

He glanced quickly at her. "Yeah, I know. I didn't, either." He took a deep breath. "How about we keep it that way? We know what it was, and probably nobody else in the world would understand. Let's keep it how it is."

She nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Yeah."

He turned to look at her, a slightly troubled look on his face. "You know I'm always going to feel responsible for you now?"

She frowned. "Don't. Like you said, I'm my own person. I'm not your responsibility. If I'd never told you, you'd never have known it was me."

"But now I know," he pointed out.

She shook her head. "Just be glad that, because of you, I'm doing a job that I absolutely love." A smile softened her face. "And I'm glad our paths have crossed again, so I can thank you properly for that."

He looked at her for a little while, before ruffling her hair. "You're welcome," he smiled, before waving her into the office. "But that's still my desk."

She sighed. "Some things never change."

He pushed and prodded her gently away from his workspace. "You're right," he said, with feeling. "They really don't."


End file.
